Marty McGuire Video Q and A – Week 2

This week’s MARTY MCGUIRE Video Q and A session for the Global Read Aloud is up a little early, since I’m traveling starting tomorrow. I’ll be visiting Nashoba Brooks School in Concord, MA for writing workshops on Friday and then heading to Providence to speak & sign books at the Rhode Island Festival of Children’s Books and Authors. If you live near there, I’d love it if you’d come by the festival to say hello in person!

For now, though… here are your answers to this week’s questions!

One more thing for those who asked about Marty’s teacher. Mrs. Aloi is actually named after a real person, my terrific sister-in-law, Linda Aloi, who teaches in the Rochester, NY area.  Here we are together the week I visited her school last year!

If you’d like to submit a question for next week’s video Q and A session, please leave a comment on this post (not one of the earlier ones…because I won’t find it) by WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23RD.  Later questions may be answered in comments but won’t make the video because I need time to edit & upload. Thanks!!

38 Replies on “Marty McGuire Video Q and A – Week 2

  1. Our second grade class would like to know why isn’t the title of the book capitalized?
    Mrs. Haskins’ 2nd Grade Class
    Oak Hill Elementary
    Lowell, IN

  2. We will probably have a question next week, but I have to stop and thank you for the videos. My kids are all talking to you on screeen saying, we do that too!, we talk about character traits, I have a writer’s notebook! Such inspiration. Thank you

  3. We are enjoying your Q and A sessions very much. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this. We are in Windsor, Ontario and in grade 3. Our question is when you were little, did you want to be something else other than a writer?

  4. Hi Kate,

    We are loving the novel so far, even the part where the frog peed on Marty. We have a couple of questions for you. Why do you think Annie wants to be friends with Veronica? We were sad when Annie didn’t stand up for Marty when the other girls were whispering that Marty was wearing emergency clothes because she had an “accident”. We also were wondering if Mrs.Aloi is based on a teacher that you once had in school.

    Many thanks,
    Mrs. Aubrey’s Grade 3 class from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

  5. Hi Kate,

    I guess I should have read the whole post first. How great to immortalize your sister-in-law! Our class noticed that your writer’s notebook had a Gandhi quote on it. We researched Gandhi when our GRA partner from India told us that it was a school holiday because of Gandhi’s birthday. The Global Read Aloud is teaching us in ways we could have never imagined!

    Take care,
    Mrs.Aubrey’s Grade 3 class, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School, Ottawa, Canada

  6. Mrs. Johnson’s Third Grade Class from Mount Vernon, WA, Lincoln Elementary
    From Abby: What made you think of writing your books?
    From Andrew: What is your favorite book?
    From Sterling: Why is Marty McGuire a tomboy?
    From Winter: Have you fallen asleep while writing a book?
    From Gabe: Is it fun to be an author?
    From Lyndzi: Is your life mostly spent writing or thinking about Marty McGuire?
    From Marcus: Did you ever ruin your clothes catching a bullfrog?
    From Eduardo: Why did you choose to write stories?
    Cynthia: Is it fun to write a book?
    Katrina: Do you have a daughter? How old is she?
    Matthew: How many more books do you think you will write?
    Sabrina: Have you ever kissed a frog before?

  7. We are writing from Berlin, Germany:
    Why are Marty McGuire and Rupert thinking the same thing?
    Are Rupert and Marty getting a real frog on to Veronica Grace\\\’s desk?
    Why does Marty feel sad doing things to the stuffed frog?
    Marty McGuire is fun for us! Thank you for writing this series! How long did it take you to write?

  8. Thank you for answering our question! It was so great to hear your voice and learn how to say Marty’s teacher’s name. Now, when we read it, we will always think of your sister-in-law and know how to say her name.

  9. Hello! You were lucky anough to grow up and live your dream of being a writer. We are wondering what three things we should focus on in school if we are to achieve our dreams, too. From: Mrs. Horn’s 2nd Grade Class at Garner Elementary in Clio, Michigan (long i in Clio) Thank you!!!!!

  10. Hi Kate,
    Our class has been reading lots of fairy tales this year and we were wondering if the Frog Prince is your favourite fairy tale? We have also read a couple of “fractured” Frog Prince fairy tales. Do you like fractured fairy tales? We do! We have been using Venn diagrams as a graphic organizer to compare Frog Prince stories.

    🙂 Mrs.Aubrey’s Grade 3 Class,
    St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School, Ottawa, Canada

  11. Marty was upset when she had to accept the part of the princess in the school play. Have you ever had to do something you didn’t want to do and how did you handle that situation?
    Mrs. Walls’ second grade class
    Wilson, NC

  12. Dear Kate Messner,
    We are a third grade class from Johnston, Iowa! We are loving your book and have never done a GRA before. We have a question for you and are excited to see if you can answer it!
    Where do all the WONDERFUL details come from in your story, Marty McGuire? Does your family help you? Is anyone else in your family a writer?
    Thanks for answering our questions!

    Sincerely,
    Mrs. Poe’s Class that is enjoying your book!

  13. If you are stuck when writing, what do you do? Do you have any advice for us, if it happens?

    How did you become an author?

    What inspired you to write Marty McGuire?

    Will there be a movie based on Marty McGuire?

    Thank you! from Ms. Dumas’ Third Grade Class Garner Elementary
    Clio, Michigan

  14. These questions come from Mrs. Waltien’s class in South Burlington, Vermont:
    1. How old were you when you started writing?
    2. How do you come up with details for your stories? ( like settings)
    3. How many books are you writing at the same time?
    4. How did you come up with the Frog Prince for the play?
    5. How long did it take you to write Marty McGuire?
    6 How many different times did you have to edit Marty McGuire?
    7. What city does the character Marty McGuire live in?
    8. What date did you begin Marty and what date did you end it?

  15. I have 3 different third grade classes I teach participating in GRA. Each class has written 1 question. Mrs.McDaniel’s class wonders if you were ever in a play or something similar where you had to be a character you didn’t want to be? Mrs. Hemphill’s class wonders if you had Marty kiss a worm in Marty McGuire Digs Worms? Mrs. Heilig’s class wonders how you decided to become a writer and what other jobs you have had?

    Thanks! Mrs.Orf, LMS, Chinn Elementary in Kansas City, MO

    1. Dear Mrs. McDaniel’s Class,

      Hello to one Mrs. McDaniel’sClass from another! But this year, I am teaching second grade. I did teach third grade for about 10 years, though! We are loving our GRA project with Marty too!

      From,
      Mrs. McDaniel
      Ithaca, NY

  16. Spaulding Academy homeschool (Nebraska)
    2nd grade
    Have you ever played the statue garden game or seen kids play it? Did you know when you started writing that Marty would change so much throughout the story?

  17. We have a few questions from J Nelson Kelly Elementary in Grand Forks, ND:

    1. Why did you chose to make Marty “tomboy like”?
    2. How did you come up with the character and story?
    3. What state does this story take place in?

  18. Hi Kate,

    We’ve been researching Jane Goodall and Maya was wondering if you ever played “Jane Goodall” when you were young.

    🙂 Mrs. Aubrey’s Grade 3 Class, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School, Ottawa, Canada

  19. Warner Elementary
    Spring Arbor, MI
    We are wondering why Veronica Grace has so many friends when she is mean to people?

  20. Hi Kate,

    We have a couple of questions for you.

    1) Madison: How old were you when you wrote your first book?
    2) Samantha: Has a frog ever peed on your sleeve?
    3) Nick: Have you ever stopped (abandoned) writing a book?
    4) Matthew: Do you have a party after you finish writing a book?
    5) Elliot: How many books have you published?
    6) Abby: Why is Veronica Grace so bossy?

    Thanks! We have really been enjoying the weekly videos.

    Mr. Clonan’s Second Grade Class, Windham Primary School, Windham, Maine

  21. Kate,
    We have been enjoying Marty McGuire and your Q and A videos a lot. Each team in our class came up with some questions they would like to ask you.

    1. How did you come up with the ideas of all the books that you have written?
    2. How long did it take to write Marty McGuire?
    3. Why do you like writing?
    4. Why did you make Marty forget her lines?
    5. Do you like dressing up?

    Thank you!
    Mrs. Hays and Mrs. Regan’s 3rd graders at Quail Glen Elementary School in Roseville, CA

  22. We have really enjoyed watching your video and hearing you talk about the book. We are really liking Marty Mcquire. Thanks for writing such a great book!

    Our questions are:
    1. How do you make/publish books?
    2. When did you write Marty Mcguire?
    3. What was Sparky looking for in the McCormick’s attic?
    4. Why did you call the racoon Sparky?

    Thank you for answering our questions, Kate!
    From,
    Mrs. van Rees’ Grade One class
    Ryerson Public School
    Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

  23. Southridge Elementary – Mrs. Pryor’s 2nd grade class
    Lewisville, Texas

    My students are loving your book. We are inspired to learn more about you, bullfrogs, and we are going to put on a play in our classroom called the “The Prince Frog”. Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions.

    My students would like to know….

    1. Has a frog ever peed on you?
    2. What is your favorite animal?
    3. If Kimmy is a girl character in the book, why is she going to be the king in the play?

    Thank you!

  24. How did you come up with the idea for Veronica Grace to go catch crayfish with them? At the start she didn’t like them.

  25. We are Mrs. Donohue’s third grade in Campbell School in Metuchen NJ. WE are really loving the videos.
    What gave you the idea for the statue garden?
    When James says “Go away Marty”, (bring back the princess attitude) does that hurt her feelings?
    Why do you end a chapter at the good part? We always want to go on!
    How did it change from being about the Nutcracker ballet to being about a play? They seem very different.

  26. Hi Kate,
    We are wondering what made you decide to include James Jackson as a character in the story. Thanks for letting us know!

    Mr. Heim’s Grade 2 class
    St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School
    Washington, DC

  27. Dear Kate,
    We have been thoroughly enjoying reading Marty McGuire in our small reading groups! Over the last few weeks, we have been looking at different kinds of playgrounds, and dreaming about how we might re-design our own playground so that kids play more with nature. We were very interested in the play spaces that Marty and her friends have at school. We are wondering how you got your ideas for the setting, especially the play areas. What are your thoughts about kids playing outdoors?

    Also, we are going to be doing some playwriting ourselves. We are wondering about your experiences with acting and plays. Have you ever played a role that you didn’t really like? How did you choose The Frog Prince as the play the kids would perform in Marty McGuire?

    Thank you so much for posting your videos each week. We love seeing your face and hearing your voice during our Morning Meetings!

    Your friends,
    Laura and Beth’s Third Grade Class at Moses Brown School, Providence, RI

  28. Dear Ms. Messner,
    Last week, we learned that you were in a play while you were in school. We have been talking about the theater being a magical place. We were wondering, have you ever had a magical moment in a theater?
    From,
    Mrs. McDaniel’s Second Grade Class
    Northeast Elementary School
    Ithaca, NY

  29. Thank you so much for taking the time to chat w/ us all. My 2nd graders and I here in Durham Connecticut are loving Marty Mcguire and can’t wait to read the next book! We were wondering at what age you knew you wanted to be an author and how difficult it was to get started and find a publisher etc. Thanks for your time. We’d love to skype w/ you if we get the chance.
    Fondly,
    Mrs. Lundt and her 2nd graders

  30. Hi again
    We’ve read up to chapter 9 now and thought of more questions:\
    1. How did you come up with the drama teacher in the story and did you take drama classes?
    2. When you were little did you ever have a part in a play that you didn’t like but then liked it?
    3. Did you have a friend like Annie that left you for another friend?
    4. Do you read your Marty McGuire books to kids?
    Thank you from Grade 3 students at Roseville Public School in Windsor, ON, Canada

  31. Dear Kate,

    Our 2nd grade class is from Apache Junction, Arizona. We are enjoying your book and having so much fun with the global read aloud. Today we read chapter 8 and learned what it meant to improvise. We had fun acting out some of the parts and improvising what they might do next. We plan on improvising more tomorrow with made up characters in a given place. Have you ever had to imrovise? Our class thought of some questions for you. Here is what we were wondering……
    Have you ever known anyone bossy like Veronica Grace? Did you get her character from someone you remember from school? Our class was also wondering if you didn’t title the chapters on purpose? We are having fun making up titles for each chapter we read! We were also wondering if you have always been an author. Can it be hard work or get frustrating at times? What do you do when you get stuck?
    Thank you for your time!
    From,
    Mrs. Trisoliere’s 2nd Grade Class
    Four Peaks Elementary School
    Apache Junction, AZ.

  32. We are a grade 3 class in Oakville Ontario Canada and we love watching your videos. Thanks for replying to our tweet also! (@missrwoods)
    We are wondering:
    1 Do you like fig newtons?
    2 is James Jackson a real person?
    3 how old is Marty?
    4 are any people you know in the book?

    Can’t wait to watch video #3!
    Miss Woods grade 3 class
    Post’s Corners Public School
    Oakville Ontario Canada

  33. Hello,
    My name is Tricia Wagner and I teach 3rd grade in Johnson Creek, WI. We are located in South East Wisconsin. Johnson Creek Elementary 3rd grade students from my class have the following questions for you…
    1) Is there a character in the book that you most identify with (who is it and why)?
    2) How did you come up with the character in Marty McGuire?
    3) Have you had any of the experiences Marty has in the book?
    Thank-you and we hope to be able to Skype with you next year.